Big retail project planned in St. Peters

A developer based in suburban Nashville, Tenn., said Wednesday it is planning a $54 million retail project on 28 acres in St. Peters.

GBT Realty Corp. of Brentwood, Tenn., said it hopes to open the Shoppes at Mid Rivers late next year. The site is at the northeast side of Interstate 70 and Mid Rivers Mall Drive, near Mid Rivers Mall and just west of Lou Fusz Chevrolet. The company said it has the property under contract and expects to complete its purchase this fall.

Rezoning and site plan applications will go before the St. Peters Planning and Zoning Commission at its meeting June 1, GBT said.

Plans for the 300,000-square-foot center include three anchor tenants, five to seven “junior” anchors, and other retail space. GBT said it is negotiating with retailers of “soft goods” — such as apparel and footwear sellers — and service providers as tenants.

“The Shoppes at Mid Rivers will be located at the center of St. Charles County and the heart of its dominant retail corridor,” Jeff Pape, managing director of GBT’s shopping center division, said in a statement. “Immediately north of and facing the only regional mall in the county, the center will have unparalleled frontage, visibility and access.”

Demolition of buildings on the site will begin immediately after acquisition, the company said. A former occupant, ABC Supply Co., relocated to O’Fallon, Mo., this year while Wm. Noble & Co.’s John Deere dealership will move after GBT acquires the property, the developer said.

Shoppes at Mid Rivers is GBT’s second planned project in the St. Louis area.

In November, the company said it wants to build an office, retail and apartment complex in Clayton, at Clayton and Hanley roads. The site, occupied by a Schnucks grocery that closed in 2003, is where previous plans surfaced then sank.

GBT’s redevelopment plan includes a new supermarket, other stores, 42,000 square feet of office space and an approximately 15-story tower of 247 apartments and garage parking. Including a separate midrise building of apartments, the project would have 291 residential units. GBT said in November it hoped to complete the project in 2018.

Efforts Wednesday to reach Clayton and GBT officials for a project update were unsuccessful.

George B. Tomlin, a Nashville-based real estate executive, formed GBT Realty in 1987. The company said it has more than $1 billion in retail developments planned or under construction in 28 U.S. markets.